


Meant To Be?

by JCHB322



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Art, College, F/M, Fluff, Little bit of angst, Love, Modern Thedas, Popular Guy/Nerdy Girl, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 08:30:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18989011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCHB322/pseuds/JCHB322
Summary: Kylara has a bad day in school and Ali tries to cheer her up!





	Meant To Be?

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written as part of my 30 Day Dragon Age Original Character Challenge... but I thought I'd repost it as a separate little Ficlet to hopefully give it a bit more exposure. I had a lot of fun putting Alistair and my female Warden in a modern setting! I was even more blessed to have the fabulous Ambellina Leander draw some gorgeous art for it!! (ambellinaleander.tumblr.com)
> 
> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> LLF Comment Builder
> 
>  
> 
> This author replies to comments.

I slammed the front door, flounced into the living room, and tossed my backpack onto the floor. Then I flopped down onto the couch with a huge groan.

“Bad day at school, love?” I heard Alistair ask from the kitchen of our condo.

“Oh, you could say that,” I muttered as I lay face down on our sofa. “That term paper I worked my ass off for? Professor MacTir only gave me 75% on it!! I need to redo it by next week, or it will pull down my whole GPA! If I lose that second scholarship…”

Alistair came out of the kitchen and leaned over the back of the couch at my prone form. He pinched my butt. I squealed in mock indignation and quickly sat up, leaning back to stare at Alistair’s grinning, upside-down face. He bent over further and gently kissed my lips. “Kylara, MacTir is a complete and utter ass as a professor… but I know my clever girlfriend will figure it out. I fully support you. You’ve got this.” He gave me another gorgeous grin… and I couldn’t help but smile back just a tiny bit.

 _How did I_ _end up with someone like him_ _?_ I wondered for what seemed the millionth time. What was the most handsome and popular man on campus – captain of the fencing team, computer gaming whiz,  _and_  lead singer of his cover band – doing with someone like me? I was a quiet, bookish nerd who loved Harry Potter, crocheted blankets, and grew plants for a hobby! He came from a wealthy family. I came from a single parent household that was struggling to cover bills and my education. And yet… here we were. Over a year as a couple; now living together under the same roof. We still had a lot of differences, and sometimes I wondered how it was working out.

Alistair, every bit the athletic stud he was, flipped himself over the couch to land next to me.

“Showoff…” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Only for you, love.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now, how can I help?”

I sighed. “I am just so scared about losing that second scholarship! Especially when I have two more years until I graduate! I honestly think MacTir might just be screwing me over. He hasn’t liked me since day one of his class!”

Alistair chuckled. “MacTir doesn’t like anyone! I swear, the man must have a stick jammed so far up his- ”

“This isn’t helping me… I still need his class to pass this semester.”

“All right, all right. I understand.” He grabbed the Xbox One controller off of the coffee table and then asked, “Do you want to play some Overwatch, love? We could pretend that all of the people on the other team are- ”

I took the controller from him and put in back on the table. Eyebrows raised, I said, “Again…  _not_ helping. I need to focus! I need to think about what I can do to fix my paper!” I moaned and placed my hands over my face.

“Do you want me to sing?” he murmured in my ear. “You always seem to love it when I sing to you.” His breath was hot against my neck and I felt him nip my ear with his teeth. “I believe you said it makes your toes curl? Hmm?”

“Alistair!” I growled in frustration, “You said you wanted to help, but all you are doing is distracting me from what I need!” I got off the couch in a huff and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.

Sitting on the edge of our bed, I picked up a framed portrait that our mutual friend, Cullen, had taken of the two of us taken just before Ali had convinced me to move in with him. We were standing shoulder to shoulder, arms entwined together. He was wearing an old Depeche Mode shirt, and I was wearing my Team Ravenclaw Quidditch shirt. Ali had given me a rose and just told me how much he cared for me. We both looked so happy. I put the picture back down and sighed again.

 

 

 _I wonder if we are truly meant to be together,_  I thought. _Maybe we rushed into things too quickly, moving in together like this?_ He had fangirls that would go to all his fencing matches, follow him around campus, go to his shows at the local club – while I was at the library studying or working my part-time job. Because our schedules were so different, there was part of me that worried that he’d think I wasn’t supporting his endeavors. He said he loved me… but I could only lately muster the courage to say, “I care for you a great deal.”

With this latest situation, I felt we were drifting even further apart.

I wiped the tears that had gathered in my eyes and decided maybe I’d go for a run to help clear my head. I took off my jeans and pulled on some running shorts. I left the bedroom and opened the sliding glass door to our small backyard.

“Winston!” I called out. Our mabari bounded up to me, barking joyfully. Then I turned to see Alistair on the couch, playing the very game he’d tried to get me to play earlier with him. He had headphones on and was chatting animatedly to the other people on his team. “Ali, I am going out for a run.”

He moved the microphone away from his mouth for a moment to say, “Yeah, all right. See you later, love.” Then he went right back to chatting with his teammates.

Feeling even more depressed, I left our condo with Winston and walked over to the nearby park and botanical garden. I spent several minutes warming up, the began a slow run on the trail. As I ran, I thought I’d swing by the greenhouses of the botanical gardens to see if Cullen was working today. Maybe he’d have some information that might help with the paper I needed to rewrite.

As it was, Cullen was there. He was outside of greenhouse one, repotting some of the hybrid elfroot that I’d helped him develop last year.

“Hey, Curly,” I greeted him by his nickname. “What’s new?

“Hello ‘Lara. Not much. Your new elfroot is growing well this season.”

“I can see that… and it isn’t just mine. You and I worked together on it.” I smiled, then asked, “How is Luna?”

“She’s doing great. She should be giving birth to her pups in a few weeks.” He scratched Winston behind his ears. “Your rascal here is going to be a daddy dog soon…” Cullen then stood up and brushed his hands on his pants. “Already have a few people lined up to adopt the new puppies once they’re weaned.”

“That’s great.”

“You okay there, ‘Lara? Forgive me if I’m prying, but you seem a bit… off today.”

“How much free time do you have?” I asked.

“For you, I have all the time you need. Just help me get these back in greenhouse one and we can go grab a tea.”

 

We sat together on the patio outside the local college coffee shop both drinking an herbal tea. Cullen listened patiently as I told him all about my term paper – that I needed to rewrite it – and my complaints that Alistair didn’t seem to be supporting me. I also told him of my fears that we were growing apart.

“I’m sorry that I’m dumping my problems onto you like this,” I said quietly and sipped my tea.

“Don’t worry. That is what friends are for.” He took a bite of the muffin he’d ordered, then smiled at me. “Besides, I think you are overanalyzing the situation between you and Al.”

“But we are so different from each other! I just don’t know how this is going to work out! Not to mention, he has all these crazy, gorgeous women who follow him all over campus… women that would do his every bidding if he asked!”

“And does he? Ask these women, that is?”

I stopped to think about it for a bit. “No… he doesn’t.”

“Who does he come home to every night, even after long shows at the local clubs?”

I stared into my tea, as if would answer for me. Then I mumbled, “Me. He always comes home to me.”

“Do you even realize what he was trying to do for you this afternoon?” Cullen finished his muffin and took another sip of his tea.

“He was annoying me,” I muttered.

“He was trying to get you to relax! He could see you’d had a bad day and was trying to cheer you up. He was trying to provide you some distractions so that you could work on your paper when you weren’t stressing over it and MacTir. He knows you work your best when you are relaxed.”

“I guess I didn’t think about it that way.”

Cullen rested his hand on top of mine. “I know Al. We went to the same private academy as kids. I watched him grow into the man he is today. We aren’t as close as we used to be, but he never does anything without a reason. What seemed like a silly waste of time to you was just his way of trying to help…” He smiled. “…and ‘Lara? He loves you. I know he does. I saw the way he was with some of the other women he used to date before he met you. He was smiling on the outside, but I could see he wasn’t content… That is why those relationships went nowhere. Since you and he got together though, I have never seen him happier.”

“What about the way he dismissed me before I left to go for my run?”

“If I know Al… and I’m pretty sure I do… I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you get home.”

Hope fluttered in my chest. “Really?”

“Go on. Head home. You can tell me all about it in botany on Monday.”

I nodded. “See you then.” I grabbed Winston’s lead and began the run to head back to the condo.

 

After I was out of sight, Cullen grinned and took out his phone. He sent a quick text.

 **She’s on her way.**  😊

 

I opened the door to the condo to find it completely dark. All the lights were out and the Venetian blinds were shut tight.

“Ali?” I called out hesitantly.

The front door was shut behind me and a pair of hands covered my eyes. Had the feel of them not been familiar, and the comforting scent of his Grey Warden aftershave I could smell, I might have screamed. His lips caressed the back of my neck. “Shh… Kylara. I’ve got you.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, a tremble in my voice.

“Let me guide you to the bathroom so you can get cleaned up. Then you can come out so we can talk.”

“But why hide my eyes? The condo is already dark.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then play along with me, okay?”

I sighed at this, then said, “All right. Go ahead.”

He walked me around the furniture, stopping only briefly to partially open the sliding glass door to let Winston out. Then I was guided to our bedroom and then the en suite bathroom. The door was almost shut behind me once I was in, but he left it open a small crack. I could see him smile gently and then he said, “Go on and get freshened up. When you are ready, come on out. Okay?”

“We are going to talk?” I swallowed nervously, and then added, “About us?”

“Mm-hm.” Then he shut the door.

I wasn’t entirely sure how to take this.  _He says all he wants to do is talk about us… but why lead me through a_   _darkened condo with hardly any other words? Perhaps Cullen was wrong?_  I sighed again and slowly stripped off my sweaty clothes. I tossed them into the hamper and then walked past the dual sinks and into the area that held the shower and tub. The first thing I noticed was the jacuzzi tub was full of steaming hot water and rose petals were sprinkled on top of the water.

? ? ?

 _He must have done this just before I got here… the water is still hot. But why? I was just going to take a shower._ I shrugged and decided since he had gone to all this effort, that I might as well take advantage of it. I stepped into the invitingly scented water and sank up to my neck. The hot water soothed my muscles… and perhaps a bit of my soul. After several moments just enjoying it, I dunked my head under, then shampooed my hair. Then I set the tub to drain as I rinsed the shampoo and conditioner out.

I stepped out of the tub and pat myself dry with a warm towel then looked behind the door for my over-sized terrycloth bathrobe. Instead, what was hanging there was something that looked like a silk kimono.

 _Okaaay… what is he doing?!_ I trembled slightly as I ran the soft material between my fingers.  _If all he wants to do is talk, why the scented bath and the luxurious robe?_ I slipped it on, tied it shut, then headed back to the sink area to brush out and braid my wet hair. Then, hesitating slightly, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

The sight that greeted me made my mouth fall open in surprise and shock. There were tiny twinkling lights strung around the room and some flameless candles on the nightstands next to the bed. The bed itself has silky satin sheets on it and more rose petals sprinkled on it. Classical music was quietly playing in the background. A small round table set up next to our bed with platters of sushi from our favorite restaurant down the street. A bottle of plum wine was chilling nearby.

Tears misted my eyes. Everything was so beautiful.

Strong arms encircled me from behind. I leaned back into Alistair’s embrace.

“I hope everything is to your liking, love?”

“I… thought you just wanted to talk. Why go to all this trouble for me?”

“I love you… and I wanted to show just how much.” He kissed my neck. “I know you’ve been thinking lately that maybe things weren’t working out between us and I want to reassure you nothing could be further from the truth.”

“How did you know I was having… doubts… about us?”

He turned me around and grinned. “Because, my silly, smart, and beautiful girlfriend talks in her sleep.”

I blushed with embarrassment. “I… do?”

Alistair nodded. “Especially when you are stressed.” He gently kissed my lips. “So I set this all up after you left on your run, so I could help you unwind and relax. I did try to help you to relax earlier, but I guess you misunderstood my intentions… so I thought this would work better.”

“Thank you,” I murmured. “It’s perfect.”

“Excellent. So, let us go eat so you can see what other surprises I have in store for you.”

“There is more?”  _How is he going to top this?_

 

We ate our sushi, sometimes even feeding each other with our chopsticks. The plum wine was sweet, smooth, and refreshing. Then, after the meal was done, Alistair brought up a small wrapped package.

“What is this?” I asked with a smile.

“Open it and see.”

So I did. Inside the box, wrapped in tissue paper was the photo of the two of us… but now instead of the simple, cheap plastic frame it had been in before, there was now an elaborate silver frame that simply read:

 

_Forever_

 

Behind that was another framed item. Inside was a quote from Pablo Neruda’s 100 Love Sonnets. As I read it, tears filled my eyes.

_**I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.** _

He got up from his side of the table and got down next to me. On his knees, he was almost at eye-level with me. “I would love for you to keep both of these on your nighttable… so it will be the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning.”

Through my tears, I smiled and said, “What if I’d rather look at you?”

He took my right hand into both of his and as he kissed me, soft and tender, I felt something metallic slide onto my finger. I gasped and pulled away, then looked at my right hand. There was now an elegant, Celtic Lovers Knot ring on my finger. On his right hand - on the same finger - was a slightly larger version of the same ring.

“These are promise rings for us. I want you to have no more fears or doubts about my love for you…” He kissed me again, then whispered, “…and the day after you graduate, they will become engagement rings.” Another kiss, this time more heated, and then he scooped me into his arms. “I love you, Kylara. Always.”

That night, he made me feel loved, special… truly cherished.

During the night as I slept, I figured out exactly how to fix my paper and make it perfect.

Two weeks later I got the results for my resubmitted work.

100%

 

**Author's Note:**

> The 30 Day Dragon Age OC Challenge that this Ficlet was part of can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18722404
> 
> **BUT**
> 
> It does also contain SPOILERS for my LongFic (which is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14631294)
> 
> Just wanted to give the heads-up! 😉


End file.
